Streams

Morning Headlines | Selected by the WNYC News Hub

Must-reads headlines from around the city, curated by the WNYC Newsroom.

PUBLIC HEALTHNew York Probes Energy-Drink Makers (WSJ) Reed Albergotti and Mike Esterl report: “New York's attorney general is investigating whether the multibillion-dollar energy-drink industry is deceiving consumers with misstatements about the ingredients and health value of its products. Eric T. Schneiderman issued subpoenas in July to PepsiCo Inc.,maker of AMP, Monster Beverage Corp.,and Living Essentials LLC, maker of 5-hour Energy drink, according to a person familiar with the matter.”

INFRASTRUCTUREConstructing a Facade Both Rugged and Rusty (NYT) Elizabeth Harris reports: “Weathering steel — often known by its old brand name, Cor-Ten — develops a fine layer of rust, which then acts as a protective coating against moisture, slowing its own corrosion process almost to a stop. While it can look suspiciously unfinished to the casual observer, it has many fans in the world of art and architecture.”

PUBLIC HEALTHGauging the Impact of Noise on Children’s Learning (WNET) John Farley reports: “While many New Yorkers might scoff at the goal of trying to reduce noise in a city famed for making it, research indicates that excessive noise can have a serious negative impact on the way children learn.... According to the World Health Organization, regular exposure to noise over 80 decibels (db.) can cause hearing damage, impaired task performance, impaired cardiovascular health and increased aggression.”

PUBLIC HEALTHCity Revives a Lunch Program That Takes Chefs Into Schools (NYT) Al Baker reports: “Reversing course, city education officials said on Monday that a well-regarded culinary organization that recruits professional chefs to prepare school lunches could continue doing so when the new year begins next week.”

DEVELOPMENTAgency, Developer Wrestle Over Atlantic Yards Affordability (BK Bureau) Norman Oder reports: “The much-delayed first housing tower at Forest City Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards complex in Brooklyn, where half the 363 units have long been promised for "affordable housing," seems poised to get millions in city housing bonds. While this 32-story building—on which Forest City aims to break ground this fall—would broadly meet the pledge the developer signed with housing advocacy group ACORN to ensure that 50 percent of the rentals be subsidized, it otherwise diverges from that promise. Not only would it contain far fewer family-sized units than pledged, those two-bedroom, two-bath units will be disproportionately geared to middle-class families, not low-income ones, with rents more than $2,700 a month.”

PARKSClinton Hill Park Riddled with Prostitution and Drugs, Residents Say (NYDN) Reuven Blau reports: “The NYPD has arrested 18 hookers in the area over the past two months, cops said. ‘In the morning there's condom wrappers that are lying around,’ 88th precinct police Capt. Scott Henderson told reporters. Parks Department employees are supposed to lock the park's front gate each night at dusk but that doesn't always happen, community activists said. ‘I've seen it open at 9 p.m. and I’ve definitely noticed an uptick in drug paraphernalia,’ said John Katsos, who heads the community group Friends of Crispus Attucks Park.”

RELIGIONLGBT-Friendly Synagogue Races to Raise $4M for New Building (DNAInfo) Mathew Katz reports: “The world's largest LGBT synagogue has raised millions of dollars toward building a new, permanent home since buying space for it last year — but leaders fear that a $4 million fundraising shortfall may delay it from opening for the shul's 40th anniversary.”

POLICEIn a Post-9/11 City, a Person’s Language Can Be a Cause for Police Suspicion (NYT) Michael Powell reports: “Chief Galati, whose job it is to stalk the terrorists who may live in our midst, continued along this line. ‘A potential terrorist could hide in here,” he said. “Most Urdu speakers would be of concern.’ All of which sounds reasonable, sort of, maybe. Except that something in the neighborhood of 80,000 New Yorkers, mostly of Pakistani and Indian descent, speak Urdu. A little later, Chief Galati turned to those New Yorkers — perhaps another 20,000 or 30,000 — who speak Bengali.”

INFRASTRUCTURESuffolk Sewer Shortage (WSJ) Will James reports: “Suffolk is home to 1.5 million people and part of the nation's biggest metropolitan area, but sewers reach less than one-third of its residents. Seventy percent rely on backyard septic systems where waste collects underground and then leaches into the earth.”

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